Melinda Heads West Read Free Page B

others. “I told you I wasn’t eating nothing outta no can. And you’re all crazy if you do!”
    “Suit yourself, Byler.” As the leader handed the cans around, he made sure to hand one to Mindy first. “Eat your portion and then pass it to your neighbor. I’ll do without.” No one argued.
    Stanton eagerly grasped a can with both hands and gulped down the contents. There was a shout at his side about fairness and eating too much.
    Mindy looked at the man standing next to her, solidly built, strong, hearty. She was happy to go first. Tipping the can up, she urged the contents into her waiting mouth. The beans were warm but moist, and filled her mouth with an explosion of sensations. She closed her eyes to enjoy the experience. Her throat welcomed the wetness, her lips gloried in the feel of moisture again. The fact that the dust from her face combined with the pork and beans didn’t deter from her enjoyment at all. Her stomach roared loudly and she lifted the can higher, like a babe suckling a bottle.
    “Hang on a minute, there. Don’t get carried away, you’re going to choke yourself.”
    Mindy wiped one sleeve across her mouth, then spat at the dust. The black-eyed man took the can and downed the rest of the contents.
    “Like you care,” she said with a snarl. “Then you wouldn’t have to carry me or my bag.”

Chapter Five
    The Byler Brothers were getting antsy. It was an easy job: steal the payroll box from the stagecoach and head off into the sunset. But there was one problem. The stagecoach wasn’t making its planned appearance.
    “You sure you got the right day?” Lee Byler, the eldest, asked his middle brother. Lee was whittling a stick down to a point as they sat sprawled on rocks high on a hill, the afternoon sun beating down on them without mercy.
    “Sure I’m sure! How would I mess up something like that?” Ben replied, wiping his face and neck with a dirty, gray bandanna.
    Lee stood and paced. He waved the pointed end of the stick within inches of Ben’s face. “Same way you messed up that bank robbery in El Dorado! Same way you messed up — ”
    “Yeah, yeah, I was a kid then. I got it right this time. Sit tight. She’ll be coming by. It’s just a matter of time.”
    Lee kicked at a third brother. “Wake him up! He’s sleeping again! I swear, one of these days … ”
    Ben shoved at a young, blond boy with the heel of his boot. “Wake up, Roger.”
    “What is it? Is it the stage?” the boy asked, wiping his eyes.
    “Naw. No stage. But lookee here, boys. We do have us some company coming.” Lee leaned into a more alert position. By then they could all hear the approaching hoof beats. It sounded like the clattering of multiple riders coming their way, but as the oncoming visitors turned a bend, the boys saw a single rider with several ponies.
    “Well, now, Ben,” Lee said, relaxing and pulling a pistol from his hip. He checked the rounds. “Does it seem fair to you that that there rider should have four horses when each of us has only one?”
    Ben smiled. “Why, no sir! And if there’s one thing I’ve always believed in, it’s fairness.”
    “Then what say we go down and help parcel out those horses a bit more equitably?”
    Lee made a motion with the pistol and Ben made his way back down the rocks. He grabbed his younger brother by the shoulder and dragged him along. Lee waited for his siblings to get into position. He loved moments like this. “King of the Mountain” had been a game they’d played as children. One boy would climb to the top of a pile of firewood or rocks, and dare anybody to oust him from the position. What followed was a free-for-all, a throwing, digging, biting, fighting, free-for-all, but the one left standing at the end was the King of the Mountain. The other boys had respected that, and Lee had liked the feeling. He took in a deep breath of mountain air and smiled, then shot his revolver once into the air.
    “Morning, neighbor!” he said to the